Takeaways from AP's report on how Trump's immigration crackdown resonates in the Texas Panhandle

PANHANDLE, Texas (AP) — After his inauguration, President Donald Trump issued a series of orders ending legal pathways for immigrants to live and work in the U.S.

Those orders resonate powerfully in the Texas Panhandle, where nearly half of workers in the meatpacking industry are thought to be foreign-born.

Three months into the new administration, confusing government directives and court rulings have left vast numbers of immigrants unsure of what to do.

Immigrants have long been drawn to the meatpacking industry, back to at least the late 1800s when multitudes of Europeans — Lithuanians, Sicilians, Russian Jews and others — filled Chicago’s Packingtown neighborhood.

For generations, immigrants have come to the Panhandle to work in its immense meatpacking plants, which developed as the state became the nation’s top cattle producer.

Those Panhandle plants were originally dominated by Mexicans and Central Americans. They gave way to waves of people fleeing poverty and violence around the world, from Somalia to Cuba.

They come because the pay in the Panhandle plants starts at roughly $23, and English skills aren’t very important in facilities where thunderous noise often means most communication is done in an informal sign language.

What workers need is a willingness to work very hard.

“It’s time for you to leave the United States,” said the Department of Homeland Security email sent in early April to some immigrants living legally in the U.S. “Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.”

This is what President Donald Trump had long promised.

America listened when Trump insisted during the campaign that immigrants were an existential threat. Immigration into the U.S., both legal and illegal, surged during the Biden administration, and Trump spun that into an apocalyptic vision that proved powerful with voters.

What was often left out, though, was the reality of those immigrants.

Because while the White House focuses publicly on the relatively small number of immigrants they say are gang members, there are roughly 2 million immigrants living legally in the U.S. on various forms of temporary status.

More than 500,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians were told they would lose their legal status on April 24, though a federal judge's order put that on hold - temporarily. About 500,000 Haitians are scheduled to lose a different protected status in August.

“It’s all so confusing,” said Lesvia Mendoza, a 53-year-old special education teacher who came with her husband from Venezuela in 2024, moving in with her son who lives in Amarillo, the panhandle’s largest city, and who is in the process of getting U.S. citizenship.

Now, an industry dependent on immigrant labor is looking toward a future where it could have to let go of thousands of immigrants.

“We’re going to be back in this situation of constant turnover,” said Mark Lauritsen, who runs the meatpacking division for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents thousands of Panhandle workers. “That’s assuming you have labor to replace the labor we’re losing.”

Trucking seemed to be the key to the American dream for a Haitian immigrant named Kevenson Jean.

Kevenson Jean's truck had taken him across immense swaths of America, taught him about snow, the dangers of high winds and truckstop etiquette. His employer owns the truck, but he understands it like no one else.

He laughs and pats the hood: “I love her.”

He and his wife came to the U.S. in 2023, sponsored by a Panhandle family whose small nonprofit employed him to run a school and feeding center for children in rural Haiti.

“We are not criminals. We’re not taking American jobs,” said Jean, whose work moving meat and other products doesn’t attract as many U.S.-born drivers as it once did.

“We did everything that they required us to do, and now we’re being targeted.”

On a Tuesday in mid-April, Kevenson left Panhandle on what he thought would be his final haul.

He looked miserable as he made his checks: oil, cables, brakes. Eventually, he sat in the driver’s seat took off his baseball cap and prayed, as he always does before setting off.

Then he put his hat back on, buckled his seat belt and drove away, heading west on Route 60.

Days later, Kevenson got word that he could keep his job.

No one could tell him how long the reprieve would last.

Haitian immigrants Kevenson Jean, a truck driver, looks over papers at his home, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Panhandle, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The sun rises behind the JBS meat processing plant, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Panhandle, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Cattle are penned at a feedlot, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Cactus, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Haitian immigrant Kevenson Jean, a truck driver, checks his truck before a road trip, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Panhandle, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Haitian immigrants Kevenson Jean, a truck driver, and wife Sherlie Jean, a fast food worker, leave the Texas Department of Public Safety, April 14, 2025, in Pampa, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A truck passes through Panhandle, Texas, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)